Blissfully Uncertain
by SlytherinQueen98
Summary: Not in all her thirteen years has Alex Russo wanted anything to do with Hogwarts. But there's something about Draco Malfoy... she just can't put her finger on it...
1. Forbidden corridor

Alex Russo walked around the Hogwarts corridors. It was late. She was just kicked out of the library, not because it was being closed, but because she snuck into the Restricted Section of the library without a note, permission – nope, nothing at all. And boy, Madam Pince was furious.

"Think about doing that again, and I'll send you back to America where you belong," Madam Pince spat.

The Russo family moved to Sheffield just months before Alex turned eleven. Her parents had intended on homeschooling her for the appropriate amount of time, but they decided it would be nice without Alex in the way of everything once she received her letter. Alex, on the other hand, wasn't at all excited that she had to go to some magical hellhole for nine months straight. She just wanted to go back to America, where all her friends were.

Alex was walking around in her Slytherin robes. She had a Potions essay due the next day, which she only half finished. Alex set that aside from her mind, and just began to walk around. She wasn't going to bed. Not yet. Why not just enjoy the cool air of October?

She made a left turn. Then a right. A right again. Left. Right. Right. Left. But then she stopped. _Where am I? _she thought.

She looked around and didn't recognize the place. The corridor was deserted. Or at least that's what she thought.

_Bugger…._

She didn't panic. Not yet, at least. But she kept it cool. Calm. She was Alex Russo, wasn't she? She knew how to keep her cool. So instead of trying to retrace her steps, she went on further. She stopped when she saw a door that said _**Do not open **_on it.

Of course Alex was going to completely ignore what it says. Curiosity rushed through her, just as fast as she went after the doorknob.

"What do you think _you're _doing?" came a cold voice.

Alex turned around. It was Draco. She knew him from her classes, but she never talked to him. From what she's witnessed in her three years at Hogwarts, Draco was a bully. Of course Alex was one too, but she was just oblivious to the fact that there were other bullies out there as well.

Alex glared at the blonde-haired beauty. "Why do you care?"

Draco merely smirked. "You Americans sure think you're tough. Not unless I get Pansy to ram your head against the –"

"Save it. No one else is here, so you can drop the act," Alex rolled her eyes. She knew that Draco only acted this way just to seem tough. Alex, on the other hand…. Alex's attitude came natural.

Instead of making a smart remark, Draco rolled his eyes and glared at Alex. "Why are you here in the first place?"

"I… was looking around. That's all." Worrying that he might not have bought the statement, she added, "Why are _you _here?"

"Taking a walk," he yawns. "I think I might go to bed. You coming or what?"

Alex nods and walks side-by-side with him.

"Were you….following me?" Alex makes out, hoping she didn't sound like a complete creep. There was a short pause, and then Draco burst out laughing.

"Why would I be following _you _around? No one knows you even exist, except the little first years you pick on," he said.

Alex let out a gasp. She didn't even bother to hide the hurt on her face after what Draco had said. She knew it was true, but she didn't need some blonde-haired bimbo to say so.

Draco didn't even bother to notice. He just kept on walking, and that was when Alex realized her reaction was still planted on her face. But then Draco stopped walking.

"What?" Alex said, who stopped when she was only a few inches away from Draco, and turned her head.

"What? No snide remarks?" Draco said, with an eyebrow raised.

"Nope. None at all," Alex said, purposely saying it in an arrogant tone, and she continued walking with her head in the air. She didn't know how to get back to the Slytherin dungeon, so she made tiny baby steps until Draco bothered to catch up and lead the way for her. But he didn't.

Alex turned around once more and made out, "Well?" as rude as she can make it.

Draco shrugged. "I'm not tired anymore."

"Well _I_ am," said Alex.

Draco smirked. "How are you going to find your way back now? Everyone else is in bed."

Alex glared. "If you don't show me the way to the dungeons now, I'll –"

"You'll what?" said Draco. "What the hell will you do to me if I don't take you back to the dungeons?"

Alex gulped. She didn't exactly know what in the name of Godric she'd do to him. Without thinking, she said, "I'll hex you."

Draco clapped his hands once and pulled his wand out. "One duel won't hurt, now would it?" He noticed the scared look on Alex's face. "Come on, Alex. No one's here to see us right now. If you manage to sack me, no one will find me here until dawn."

Alex, unsure if she wanted to duel while most of the castle was asleep, nodded nonetheless and pulled her wand out, that was tucked in her sock on her left leg.

No one said a thing, so Alex decided to start. "_Explliarm_ –"

"_Stupefy_!"

Alex totally forgot the shielding charm. _Duck, you twit, duck! _She tells herself, but it's too late.

_WAM. _

She gets hit.

Alex felt herself fall hard on the floor, but didn't feel a thing. She saw Draco run up above her and everything was black.


	2. Knocked out again

Alex awoke, but she didn't open her eyes. Not yet, at least.

_When I open my eyes_, she thought. _I'll be back home in the States, in my room, and my old house, and Hogwarts never existed._

She felt someone clutch her hand tight. _It's only mom, it's only mom…._

She opened them.

And sure enough, she wasn't at home in her cozy bed, and it wasn't Mom holding onto her hand. It was a blonde girl in her year that she never talked to.

"Daphne?" she said, getting up but laying right back down as she sensed a headache coming on. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, someone had to tell you about what happened," the blonde said. Daphne Greengrass looked as if she was enjoying herself. She was amongst the people that never took notice of Alex before. Some people, like Pansy, teased her when they got the chance. But not Daphne. They never acknowledged her presence at all. No glance. Nothing. Not unless you counted those occasional greetings in the middle of switching classes, but other than that, the pair never made any other interactions.

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but Daphne knew exactly what before she could say anything.

"Malfoy found you by the Forbidden Corridor. He thought you were dead, buy you were just out for two days."

"What else did Draco say?"

"Nothing. He just paid you daily visits."

"What?" Alex scrunched her eyebrows. "Did he visit me today?"

Daphne shook her head. "It's too early. He usually visited you before going to bed."

Alex looked around at the walls for the clock. It read 11:36am. Shit.

"Did I miss class?" Alex said. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be –"

"It's Saturday. Professor Snape wants your essay by Monday," said Daphne grinning.

"Is she awake?" asked Madame Pomfrey, walking inside the curtains that were surrounding Alex's bed. "Or is she talking in her sleep again?"

Alex sat up. "I'm awake. Can I please get out of here now?"

She got dressed in her Slytherin vest and skirt, and walked with Daphne back to the dungeons. Alex made way to finish her Potions essay, and so Daphne decided to go to Hogsmeade with her group of friends. Alex grabbed her books and started for the library.

It was unusually sunny for a day in October. Most of the students were outside, in front of Hogwarts or at Hogsmeade, trying to find entertainment instead of being locked up in an ancient building. But then again, no one's forcing them to stay inside.

Alex passed several first and second years, trying not to knock them down as she usually does. Karma sure hit her good when Draco stunned her. But did karma actually hit everyone?

She began to wonder when she heard Pansy Parkinson laughing. She was leaning against the wall, next to Blaise Zabini and a group of other Slytherins. who were also laughing. They both were looking at Alex's direction.

"What are you laughing at?" Alex glared.

And that's when Pansy finally burst. The cold laugh echoed through the corridors. It just about made Alex's spine shiver.

"You, of course," Pansy said, once she was able to make out words. "Your accent. It's even funnier than how everyone else describes it."

And then she burst into laughter again, and as did everyone else in the crowd. Blaise looked uneasy, but laughed along with her. It sounded forced, but no one else seemed to notice.

Alex didn't know what to say. She just stood there glaring pathetically at her own Housemates. _Weren't our Houses supposed to be like family? _She thought. _But perhaps that ship has sailed._

She pulled out her wand, and the crowd stopped laughing. Pansy was the only one who continued to laugh.

"She has a wand!" she made out. "As if I don't have one too!"

Alex raised her eyebrows. _How the hell was that even funny?_

"I don't know…" said one Slytherin from Pansy's group of friends. "I've seen her in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She's rather good…."

Pansy suddenly stopped laughing and said, "She can't even take me on wandless and in my sleep, Priscilla, now keep shut. Let's see what she can do." She looked arrogantly at Alex, not bothering to even pull out her own wand.

"_Petrificus Total _–"

"_Protego_!" Blaise yelled. But Blaise's protection wasn't strong enough. It sent him flying straight against the wall behind him, knocking out several of his friends.

"You're gonna pay for that, Russo," Pansy said through clenched teeth. Alex watched as Blaise slid slowly off the stone wall, feeling sick. Then she brought her attention back to Pansy and gave her the finger. She then walked as casually as possibly to the library as possible.

"Back, are we?" said Madame Pince. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Alex stuck her tongue out at Madame Pince once her head was turned. She then went past shelves, looking for the correct books for her essay. The whole library was deserted. There was only Alex and the librarian in the huge room, which made Alex's job for picking out books much easier.

Draco was laying on his bed in the boy's dormitory. The news had gotten around that Draco was the one who found Alex, and rumors spread that he was the one to Stun her, which sparked Draco to feel unusually guilty. But why? His sadistic nature was no secret, and besides, he _meant _to Stun Alex. So why feel pity at all?

The Malfoy heir tossed and turned, attempting to take a nap, and hoped that he would forget that anything happened once he woke up. But no, he was wide awake. He was awake yesterday during class. He couldn't concentrate properly on his work, hence that all he could think about was if he had killed or severely injured the American Hogwarts student.

And, oh, how relieved he was to find out that Alex was able to walk and talk again. That gave Draco an excuse to not feel guilty.

"Well, now she's done it!" Goyle fumed.

Draco sat up, clearly confused at what he was talking about. "Who?"

"Russo," Goyle began to kick around whatever was on the floor. "She hexed Blaise and he's on his way to the hospital wing."

"Alex?" Draco said, not even trying to hide the excitement on his face. "Where is she now?"

"Dunno," said Goyle. "Probably by the library. I saw her with a whole bunch of books in her – Aye!"

Draco didn't even bother to listen to the rest of Goyle's blabbering. He speed-walked out of the dungeons and headed straight for the library. But she wasn't there. The library was deserted.

"What are you looking for?" asked Madame Pince.

"Is Alex here?" Draco said.

"Russo? She just left."

Draco didn't bother to say one last word. He walked straight out of the library and looked around, thinking about where the dark-haired girl would be.

He walked through random corridors, searching.

Once she was finished with her essay, she decided to go wandering the corridors. In actuality, she was hoping to find the door that said _**Do not open **_on it again.

But then she saw a shadowy figure pass her. Alex turned her head, gasping. But nothing was there. She put her attention back to the door again.

She walked on, keeping her eye on at the dead end in front of her. She thought she saw a door. Maybe that was it. The door she saw before. Excitement rushing through her again, she walked on. Further and further. But then the shadowy figure appeared before her again, but this time, it was in front of her. Alex stopped walking and got hit straight on the head with the shadow's fist, and there she was left. She passed out and was left on the floor, as the masculine figure ran.


	3. Threatened

She's just gotten out of the hospital wing, and there she goes, back in there again, not even lasting a day. Madame Pomfrey was completely convinced that there was something wrong with Alex after she told her what had happened, and about the shadowy figure that she saw punch her before everything faded to black. Madame Pomfrey thought Alex was hallucinating, but Alex insisted that she was fine. She merely passed out.

But even if she were let out of the hospital wing, she'd still be locked up in the castle. Word had gotten around about what Alex had seen, and just a week afterward Ron Weasley had seen the same shadowy figure with a knife in the boy's dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. It was then that Madame Pomfrey knew that Alex wasn't hallucinating, but decided to let her go the next morning.

Daphne paid Alex daily visits right after classes and then went back to the dungeons to finish her homework.

"Did you hear?" said Daphne excitedly, grabbing a chair to sit beside Alex's bed, and setting her bag down on the floor. "That Weasley kid nearly got stabbed by Sirius Black."

"Who?" said a puzzled Alex. Indeed she had heard his name on the news before terms had started, but she never thought him to be of such importance. She thought he was only a Muggle prisoner. What harm could a Muggle do when she has a wand right behind her back?

"You haven't heard of Sirius Black?" Daphne raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't he a Muggle who escaped prison?"

"No!" spat Daphne. "Your parents never told you? He escaped from Azkaban just months ago. Supposed to have given information to You-Know-Who to cause the death of Potter's parents. He's everywhere. Muggle news, the Daily Prophet…. Aren't your parents purebloods?"

Alex paused a moment to think. Where was Justin? Did he know about Sirius Black? But if he did, why didn't he tell her about him? Then she heard Daphne question her about her parents' blood status. That, she ignored.

While Alex thought about this, she totally forgot that Daphne was still there, staring dreamily at the wall.

"Daphne," said Alex. "You should probably go back to the dungeons."

Daphne's face brightened. "Yeah, I should. Homework." And then she stalked off to the dungeons.

Alex laid back on her bed and sighed. _Just one more day…._

Only a day more she'd have to spend here, putting up with Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing. Alex shut her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep, but she couldn't. She was too busy wondering what Justin, her sixth year Ravenclaw brother, was doing. And although she hated her brother, she cared for him. Then she thought of her brother Max, who she hardly even thought for at all. He was in his first year. She'd have to make plans to see him again as well. But where would he be? Where does he hang out? She hardly saw him anymore or heard of any such news about him. All she knew was that he was placed in Gryffindor.

While Alex thought about this, she then heard Madame Pomfrey call her name. "You have another visitor," she said, leading him to Alex's bed and then walked away to treat another student.

It was Draco. He walked beside Alex and sat in the chair Daphne was sitting on before she left.

"What do you want?" Alex said, crossing her arms while she was still lying in bed.

"You were in here for a week, Russo," said Draco. "Is it a crime for wondering if you're okay?"

"No," said Alex. "I suppose not. But you had a whole week to check on me. Where were you then?"

"I hardly see how that's any of your business," said Draco. His grey eyes looked cold as Alex stared blankly at him. "Look, the reason why I'm here is because I heard something go around about the shadow you saw being Sirius Black. I don't know if that's the case, but I also heard that Weasley saw the same shadow you did."

"Precisely," Alex said, nodding.

"Yeah? Well, I also heard that Black is after Potter. Something about him being Potter's godfather. But I don't care about that. I just want to know where you were going after the library. I searched everywhere for you that day and people continued to say you were at the library. And then Madame Pince said that you just left, and then I found you by the girl's bathroom."

Alex scrunched her eyebrows. Was the door that she saw that day the girl's bathroom? It was the same path she made when she unknowingly ended up in the Forbidden Corridor, but she _never _knew there was another bathroom in that area.

"So," Alex said in disbelief. "You're saying that that wasn't the Forbidden Corridor?"

Alex looked directly at Draco's eyes. They looked cold, but then they changed. They looked as if he solved a mystery. Then she watched as his lips curled into a soft smile.

"Ah," he said. "Ahhhh."

"What?" Alex said suspiciously.

"So you were looking for the Forbidden Corridor?" said Draco casually.

"Say I was then," said Alex. "I went the same path it was in. Where was the door with the sign on it?"

Draco's smile faltered. "Look, Russo. I'm not saying a thing on that door _or _the Forbidden Corridor. All I _will _say, however, is to not look for it again. Clear?"

"No," said Alex angrily. "What happened to _is it a crime for wondering_? Why won't you tell me?"

"Because it's school business and if I told you, we'd both get into deep shit."

Suddenly they both heard footsteps. Draco turned around and saw Madame Pomfrey walk with a tray in her hands.

"Your time is up," she said to Draco.

"One minute," said Draco quickly, and turned back to Alex.

"Listen, tomorrow's the day before Halloween. There's going to be a party that night. I'll see you tomorrow." And then he got up to leave. Madame Pomfrey set the tray she was holding on Alex. It was her dinner. For the rest of the day, Alex laid in bed. But then she had one more visitor before bed.

To Alex's misfortune, it was Pansy. And she looked pissed.

"Mudblood," Pansy spat.

"I wouldn't be describing myself with such a foul name if I were you," Alex said quickly, getting annoyed. She wasn't in the mood to put up with Pansy's bullock today.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I see Draco has been visiting you a lot lately," she said as a devious smile slowly formed on her face.

"I won't deny it," said Alex.

"Yeah? Well, I'd suggest you back off. You've already pissed me off by attacking Blaise, and now you're taking Draco away? That's not how it works for me and you while we're both in Slytherin House."

"Oh? And who's going to stop me?" said Alex.

Pansy's smile grew. "You know about the door in the Forbidden Corridor? I know all about it and what's hidden inside. I can control whatever it is in store, and as long as you don't come near Draco again, I'll leave you unscathed."

Alex, feeling threatened, decided to ignore her feelings anyway and ask her the only question on her mind. "What's in the door?"

"If you don't keep away from _my _Draco, then you will find out." Without another word, Pansy got up and walked out of the hospital wing.

Alex had _never _been threatened in her first two years at Hogwarts, but all of a sudden she's a target when she spends time with a popular pure-blood boy. Did Pansy really think she was superior to Alex? Maybe she had threatened her, but Alex never let anyone win. Especially someone from a school she so much hated. She hated the place anyway, so what would she have to lose if she were to anger someone she doesn't like? She didn't know what would be coming her way with all the talk about the door in the Forbidden Corridor, but curiosity definitely isn't a sin. If one can play this game, then so can two.


End file.
